Efficient Institutions and Effective Deterrence: On Timing and Uncertainty of Formal Sanctions

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty - Economic theory suggests that the deterrence of deviant behavior is driven by a combination of severity and certainty of punishment. This paper presents the first...     

The experience of older people of entering into the phase of asking for public home help – a qualitative study

The aim of this qualitative study was to explore older persons' (n = 28, 75–96 years of age) experience of becoming in need of public home help, their experience of participation and of having influence on the needs assessment procedure and the decisions made about public home help. A content analysis revealed a broad overarching category, labelled: experiencing discontinuity in life as a whole – the countdown has begun . In addition, four principal categories emerged from the data: comparing the past with the present and losing parts of oneself and connectedness; worrying about the losses and what they will bring about; struggling against losing abilities to avoid dependency and home help; and struggling with conflicting feelings about being/becoming in need of help, and from whom. That older people can so perceive their life situation needs to be recognised if they are to be empowered to become involved in and exert influence on the assessment process and its outcome as well as on their life situation as a whole.     

Contextualizing the meaning of respect: the case of evangelicals in Brazil / Contextualización del significado del respeto: el caso de la comunidad evangélica de Brasil

This article examines the meaning of respect for evangelicals in Brazil. We were particularly interested in the roles which the recognition of equality, achievements and needs would play in the respect experiences of members of this religious minority. With regard to the sources of respect our focus was on Brazilians as a superordinate ingroup and on five different outgroups. As expected, equality recognition emerged as the dominant principle governing intragroup respect. Intergroup respect, however, was governed primarily by the principle of need recognition, especially in relations with religious outgroups. The principles of achievement and equality recognition also played a role in intergroup respect, but only in relations with secular outgroups. Implications for religious groups’ struggles for respect in modern society are discussed.